The Journalism Salute

303. Justin Taylor (Photojournalist, The Current) and Elodie Mailliet (CEO, Catchlight)

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Justin Taylor, a photojournalist at The Current, which covers coastal Georgia, and Elodie Mailliet, CEO of Catchlight, a visual-first media organization that leverages the power of visual storytelling to inform, connect, and transform communities. Justin talked about his experience as a photojournalist after time in the military and as a tugboat captain. He gave examples of his work and explained how he takes pictures of wildfires and of people dealing with challenging moments in their lives. Elodie talked about what Catchlight does and explained the various initiatives and projects that it works on and helps with. Justin's salute: Photographer Joe Reidel Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

• Transcript

302. Addy Cowley, News Editor and Photographer, The Daily Utah Chronicle

On this episode we're joined by Addy Cowley. Addy is the news editor at the Daily Utah Chronicle, the University of Utah's independent student voice since 1890. She's also a staff photographer. Addy grew up in Virginia but also in Japan, Israel, England, and Germany. She's studying, among other things, international studies. Addy talked about her experience as both a news editor and a staff photographer. She explained the challenges of trying to cover stories related to Charlie Kirk's assassination and also how people voted in the 2024 presidential election. She also shared what it was like on one of her favorite assignments, shooting pictures from an airplane. Addy's salutes: Reuters; James Gordon at Weber State, Alfonso Rubio at Utah Tech Examples of Addy's coverage https://dailyutahchronicle.com/2025/09/22/11-days-later-uvu-in-the-aftermath-of-kirks-death/ https://dailyutahchronicle.com/2026/09/13/college-democrats-accuse-college-republicans-of-doxxing-over-viral-x-post-college-republicans-resurface-democrats-past-comments/ https://dailyutahchronicle.com/2026/03/23/how-utahns-are-saving-the-great-salt-lake/ Leying's salute: The South China Morning Post Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

• Transcript

Leying Tang, Associate Producer- CNN Podcasts

On this episode Mark Simon is joined by Leying Tang. Leying is an associate producer for CNN Podcasts. She's been in this job for a little more than 2 years, producing, editing, writing, pitching stories, and researching for a couple of different shows. She's a graduate of Shanghai Normal University in China and has a masters in multimedia journalism from NYU. Leying talked about her various work experiences, her role at CNN, the skills needed to do her job well, and how she manages her mental health. Leying's salute: The South China Morning Post Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

• Transcript

300. Cate Charron, First Amendment Reporter: Indianapolis Star

On our 300th episode we're joined by Cate Charron. Cate is in her 2nd year as a First Amendment reporter for The Indianapolis Star. This is one of five such positions across papers in the USA Today Network, owned by Gannett. It's sponsored by The Freedom Forum's Local Press Initiative and Journalism Funding Partners. Cate has worked for other newsrooms in Indiana, and rose as high as editor-in-chief at the Indiana Daily Student at Indiana University, from which she graduated in 2022. Cate talked to us about what a First Amendment reporter does, provided examples of the stories she's written, and shared how her work is a collaborative effort with the other first amendment reporters. Example of coverage: Intellectual diversity story https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2026/09/15/indiana-colleges-see-increase-in-professor-intellectual-diversity-complaints/91709774007/ Cate's salutes: The student journalists at The Cornell Daily Sun, Mirror Indy, and Indianapolis Star accountability and investigations editor Tony Cook Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

• Transcript

299. Kae Petrin, Data and Graphics Reporter; Co-Founder: Trans Journalists Association

On our 299th episode, Mark Simon is joined by Kae Petrin. Kae is a data and graphics reporter for Civic News Company's data visuals team. Kae collaborates with local reporters to tell data-driven stories about education, voting rights, and health care. Kae has been with this organization for nearly 5 years. They are also the co-founder of the Trans Journalists Association, which began in 2020. Mark and Kae talked about what goes into being a data reporter, the different types of stories they work on, the goals of the Trans Journalists Association, and what it was like to do a Knight Fellowship. Kae's salutes: Lex McMenamin, movement building reporter for The Guardian Kae's website: https://petrinkae.github.io/ Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

• Transcript

298. Nancy Martinez Preyor Johnson: Special Projects Reporter, San Antonio Express-News; NAHJ VP

On this episode we're joined by Nancy Martinez Preyor-Johnson. Nancy is a senior projects reporter for the San Antonio Express-News. She was formerly a metro editor and editorial page editor and won awards for her opinion writing about the Uvalde school shooting and about immigration. She also used to be a high school journalism teacher. She's on the executive board for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists as their vice-president of print. She is a graduate of Texas A&M-Kingsville with a masters from UTSA Nancy talked about covering a scandal related to ex-congressman Tony Gonzales and the challenges of reporting such stories. She shared the goals of the NAHJ and related her experience as a middle school and high school journalism teacher. Nancy's salute: All the non-profit journalism newsrooms Example of coverage of congressman Gonzales https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/tony-gonzales-texts-regina-santos-aviles-pictures-21362068.php ubscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

• Transcript

297. Amanda Pérez Pintado, Reporter, Centro De Periodismo Investigativo

On this episode we're joined by Amanda Perez Pintado. Amanda is a bilingual reporter covering health for The Center for Investigative Reporting in Puerto Rico (Centro De Periodismo Investigativo) and a journalism instructor teaching news writing and data journalism to college students. She's been in her current job for 2.5 years and has also worked at El Nuevo Dia and USA Today. She's a part of Report for America, a graduate of the Universidad de Puerto Rico with a masters from NYU. Amanda talked about her work as a bilingual reporter, why investigative reporting is a good beat for her, and what she hopes students get out of her from her work as a teacher. Examples of her reporting https://periodismoinvestigativo.com/2025/12/mentally-ill-defendants-puerto-rico-jail/ https://periodismoinvestigativo.com/2026/06/multimillonarias-multas-first-medical/ Amanda's salute: Her colleague Víctor Rodríguez Velázquez Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

• Transcript

296. Nierra Coleman-Jones and Eric Jourgensen, News Literacy Project; National News Literacy Conference

On this episode Mark Simon is joined by Nierra Coleman-Jones and Eric Jourgensen. Nierra is the senior manager of educator engagement for the News Literacy Project. Eric is a teacher and newspaper advisor in Palm Beach County, Florida. They were here to promote the National News Literacy Conference, which will take place Oct. 8-10 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nierra is one of the people running the conference. Eric will be one of the guest speakers. His presentation is titled " Dihydrogen Monoxide: The Deadly Chemical That Exposes How Misinformation Works." Each of them talked about their experiences with news literacy, the challenges in teaching students to be news literate, and what they hope people will get out of coming to the conference. For more information about the News Literacy Project, visit them at newslit.org or find them on social media. And learn more about the News Literacy Conference here: https://newslit.org/conference/ Eric's GoFundMe to cover his expenses https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-me-teach-news-literacy-at-a-national-level Nierra's salute: The design team at the News Literacy Project Eric's salutes: His first editor, Jon Sechrist Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

295. Nevin Kallepalli, Former Reporter: Shasta Scout

On this episode we're joined by Nevin Kallepalli. Nevin was a reporter for Shasta Scout, a non-profit newsroom serving Shasta County, California. We've talked to a lot of California-based reporters but I think Nevin is the first we've talked to in a politically-conservative part of the state. The demographics of Shasta are overwhelmingly white. Nevin was a local news fellow who is particularly interested in covering religion. This was his first foray into daily reporting and he was a finalist for an award from the Institute for Non-Profit News this year. He's a graduate of UCLA with a masters from Columbia, and while there he worked for the Whitney Museum. We talked with Nevin about his journalism origin story and some of the prominent stories he covered. He explained how he was able to cover a community with vastly different demographics from his in a fair and empathetic way. This is a good episode for early-career or student journalists wondering about what the local news experience is like. Nevin's salutes: CalMatters and The Sacramento Bee Nevin's story on police tactics: https://shastascout.org/using-suspects-faces-rpd-weaves-compellingly-pro-police-narratives-its-a-practice-thats-known-to-cause-harm/ Other notable stories https://shastascout.org/could-forced-treatment-for-substance-use-help-stabilize-the-chronically-homeless/ https://shastascout.org/in-hopes-of-saving-her-daughters-life-she-asked-for-her-rights-to-be-taken-away/ Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

• Transcript

294. Maddie Carr, Graduate Student, University of Missouri; Kansas Journalist of the Year winner

On this episode Mark Simon is joined by Maddie Carr. Maddie is just starting graduate school for investigative and data journalism at the University of Missouri. She is a graduate of Emporia State University with a sociology degree. In 2024 she became the first college student to be named Kansas Journalist of the Year by the Kansas Press Association. On this episode we're joined by Maddie Carr. Maddie is just starting graduate school for investigative and data journalism at the University of Missouri. She is a graduate of Emporia State University with a sociology degree. In 2024 she became the first college student to be named Kansas Journalist of the Year by the Kansas Press Association. We'll talk to her about that and much more. Maddie talked about the work she's done to this point in her career, including the investigative piece that won her that big award. She also shared about her battle with imposter syndrome while working an internship at the Topeka Capital-Journal. And she explained why she wanted to go the graduate school. Maddie's coverage of professor's sexual harassment history https://esubulletin.com/10768/news/esu-assistant-dean-resigns-amid-public-outcry-of-sexual-harassment-its-not-the-first-time/ They grow up so fast (story about her brothers) https://esubulletin.com/20165/opinion/they-grow-up-so-fast/ Maddie's salutes: Amy Goodman of Democracy Now and Steal This Story Please, and Stacy Saldanha-Olson of the Topeka Capital-Journal. Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

293. Kuwilileni Williams-Hauwanga, Deputy Director of Audience & Innovation, Capital B

On this episode, Mark Simon talks to Kuwilileni Williams-Hauwanga, the deputy director of Audience & Innovation at Capital B, a newsroom that covers stories of crucial importance to Black people across the country, such as politics, health, criminal justice, the environment, and rural issues. Kuwilileni is an accomplished multimedia storyteller who previously worked at the Brookings Institution, IndieWire, Business Insider, and Buzzfeed. Our conversation focused primarily on an oral history project that Kuwilileni is helping to lead. It's the For The Record Archive, a joint venture of Capital B and PushBlack intended to provide 250 oral histories of the Black American experience. We talked about Kuwilileni's work history, the project's origins, why it's important, and provided examples of the different types of oral histories shared. Kuwililileni's salutes: MLK 50 and The 19th Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

Kamala Thiagarajan, Freelance Science Journalist

On this episode Mark Simon is joined by Kamala Thiagarajan. This will be a little different for us. Kamala is a science journalist who spent part of her childhood in the United States and is now based in Madurai, South India. She won The June Biedler Prize and a Solutions Journalism Award for outstanding reporting on cancer in 2025. She's also reported extensively on COVID in India. Sometimes she reports on human rights and culture. Kamala has had bylines in the New York Times, The Guardian, on NPR, and the BBC. She's also a contributor to the new book from The Open Notebook, The Best Science Stories And How They Work. Kamala was recommended to us by Sandeep Ravindran, a recent guest who is the president of the National Association of Science Writers. Kamala talked about freelance writing life and provided examples of the kind of stories she's covered. She explained the challenges of doing science writing in India, commented on the state of science writing in the United States, gave strategies for dealing with work stress, and explained how she mentors other journalists. Kamala's salutes: The Open Notebook & The American Association For Cancer Research Interview on FreedomWithWriting.com https://www.freedomwithwriting.com/freedom/editor-interviews/interview-with-kamala-thiagarajan-publlished-in-the-new-york-times-npr-bbc-al-jazeera-scmp-and-others/ Kamala's Seaweed Diver Story https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/05/07/1129895843/its-not-for-the-faint-hearted-the-story-of-indias-intrepid-women-seaweed-divers Kamala's story about blind women helping catch breast cancer https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2024/09/08/g-s1-15690/breast-cancer-tumors-women-blind Kamala A Day In The Life Story https://www.theopennotebook.com/2025/03/04/a-day-in-the-life-of-kamala-thiagarajan/ Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

• Transcript

Monique Madan, Investigative Journalist, Founder: Two Can Be True

On this episode we're joined by Monique Madan. Monique is an award-winning investigative journalist, advisor, educator, and a mother of two. She's also the founder of a newsletter Two Can Be True. Monique has been a reporter in many prominent newsrooms, 13 years at The Miami Herald, as well as at USA Today, The Boston Herald, The Markup, and short stints at The New York Times and The Boston Globe. She's a graduate of Miami Dade and Emerson College, and has a masters from Harvard. We talked to Monique about the challenges of being an independent investigative journalist, the stories she's written, the traits that make her a good journalist, and balancing her job with being a mom. Monique's salute: Project C – The Home of Creator Journalism Story about the Grim Reaper patch https://moniqueomadan.substack.com/p/the-grim-reaper-patch-circulating Coverage of Alligator Alcatraz https://moniqueomadan.substack.com/p/fl-said-alligator-alcatraz-was-shutting Story about her grandfather cooking for President Kennedy https://moniqueomadan.substack.com/p/my-abuelo-cooked-for-jfk-i-retraced Story about being called scrappy https://moniqueomadan.substack.com/p/they-called-me-scrappy-heres-why Story about Monique in Project C Newsletter https://newsletter.projectc.biz/p/what-it-costs-to-leave Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

• Transcript

Santiago Campos, Incoming Student, Georgetown University

On this episode I'm joined by Santiago Campos. Santiago is headed to Georgetown University in the fall. He went to school at DC International School where he learned journalism, and had a piece was featured on PBS News Hour and in Teen Vogue. Santiago has been awarded multiple scholarships. One of them was from CBS in honor of broadcast legend Mike Wallace. He spoke critically of what is happening at the network. Very critically. If you're listening to this podcast, I'm guessing you saw clips of his speech or at least heard about it. I'm curious about that, but I'm more curious about everything that led up to it and what he thinks is coming after it. That's what we talked about. Santiago's YouTube page - https://www.youtube.com/@sant1agocampos Santiago's speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG5obCt98zA Santiago's PBS story about his family https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/family-who-lived-through-1950s-u-s-deportation-effort-reflects-on-current-climate Santiago's story about a man detained by ICE and his family https://studentreportinglabs.org/youth-reporting/an-immigrant-father-detained-by-ice-shares-his-story-of-fear-and-survival/ Santiago's salutes: More Perfect Union and independent journalist Johnny Harris. Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

• Transcript

Susie Neilson, Megan Fan Munce, Sara DiNatale; Pulitzer winners, San Francisco Chronicle

On this episode we're joined by three reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle – Susie Neilson, Megan Fan Munce, and Sara DiNatale. The three of them won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting for the series of articles, Burned, which show how insurance companies using algorithmic tools have failed Californians who lost their homes to wildfires. They did so by systematically undervaluing properties, denying claims and making it impossible for them to rebuild. There were roughly 20 stories done on this project with a large team of contributors. Susie, Megan, and Sara provided a behind-the-scenes perspective of how the stories came together. They also provided advice and insight for journalists who aspire to do such work. Susie, Megan, and Sara's salutes: The other Pulitzer Finalists for Explanatory Journalism at Bloomberg (Staff) and ProPublica (Brett Murphy and Anna Maria Barry-Jester). A full list of Thank Yous From Susie, Megan, and Sara Brontë Wittpenn (and pitbull Mama Wittpenn), Stephen Lam, Ryan Gabrielson, Kate Galbraith , Demian Bulwa, Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, Michael Gray, Sarah McGrew, Erin Caughey, John Blanchard, Alex Fong, Joy Jeong, Nami Sumida, Jessica Christian, Alisha Jucevic, Brooke Park , Christian Leonard, Anthony Edwards, Maggie Beidelman, Nicole Fruge, Emily Jan, Dan Kopf, Hannah Hagemann, Caleb Pershan, Linda Houser/Tafur,Shoka Safiee Full series https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/susie-neilson-megan-fan-munce-and-sara-dinatale-san-francisco-chronicle Inside Burned (3 1/2 minute video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glFQduuo7qI 15-minute summary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh5HW42fEII Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

• Transcript

288. Sandeep Ravindran: President, National Association of Science Writers; Contributor: The Best Science Stories and How They Work

Hi. I'm Mark Simon and welcome to The Journalism Salute. On this episode we're joined by Sandeep Ravindran. Sandeep is a freelance science journalist based in Bethesda, Maryland. He's written for many publications, including The New York Times, National Geographic and Wired. Sandeep is also the president of the National Association of Science Writers. He's also a program manager for community mentoring at The Open Notebook, an organization that mentors science writers. The Open Notebook has a new book out – The Best Science Stories and How They Work. Sandeep annotated a story by journalist Jessica Seigel for the book. Sandeep talked about why Jessica's article is so good and then walked us through a couple of stories that he's written about AI and about supplements. He shared guidance for aspiring science writers and explained the goals of the NASW. Jessica Seigel's The Truth About Lying https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/mind/2021/the-truth-about-lying Sandeep's article about efficient AI https://dhewxdsd0qahx.cloudfront.net/5105472/Cutting_AI_Down_to_Size-science.adw7713.pdf?1741032784 Sandeep's article about supplements https://time.com/6171584/are-vitamins-supplements-healthy/ Interview with Siri Carpenter of The Open Notebook (Episode #13!) https://open.spotify.com/episode/2yJBCItJCZrmnBbZfTtOGl?go=1&sp_cid=f5ca8b5c892565553f13a8e595421365&utm_source=embed_player_p&utm_medium=desktop Sandeep's salutes: 1) The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing 2) Society of Environmental Journalists 3) Association of Health Care Journalists Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

Heather Morrison, Managing Producer, MassLive

I'm Mark Simon and welcome to The Journalism Salute. On this episode, I'm joined by Heather Morrison. Heather is a managing producer for MassLive.com, which covers the state of Massachusetts. She's previously been a reporter and a social media producer with them. Heather is a graduate of the University of Missouri, class of 2015 with degrees in religious studies and journalism. Heather talked about MassLive's social media strategy and her approach to running the organization's accounts, such as Instagram and TikTok. She explained the different types of things she's tried, how she deals with viewer comments, and provided advice for those interested in pursuing social media account management as a job. MassLive Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/masslive/ MassLive Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@masslivenews Heather's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@heatheradamsmorrison44 Heather's salute: Maine Trust for Local News Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

• Transcript

Jay Dow, Reporter & Host PIX11 News

On this episode we're joined by Jay Dow. Jay is a well-known TV reporter and host in New York City. He's in his 15th year as a correspondent and host for PIX11, where he's won or shared 17 Emmys and 2 Edward R Murrow Awards. Prior to that he was a correspondent for WCBS TV for 9 years and did some national reporting as well. And he was a reporter for my family's favorite TV channel- NY1. Jay is a native of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and a graduate of my alma mater, The College of New Jersey, with a degree in political science and concentration in economics. He was in my graduating class and we were profiled in the same article in the alumni magazine. Jay gave a behind-the-scenes look at covering notable stories, and how he handles reporting on snowstorms. He explained how a planned venture into a legal career shifted when his uncle got him a job in TV news. And he provided advice for aspiring TV journalists and offered words of hope for local TV news. Examples of Jay's reporting: https://www.youtube.com/c/JayDowTV/videos https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUK8g7y07fCFb52EO1cLFw2dJf6tErxwk Jay's salute: The National Association of Black Journalists. Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/ Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com

• Transcript

Anita Pinto & Aron Dervishaj: Advisor and Student Journalist: The Gateway Times

On this episode of The Journalism Salute, we're joined by Anita Pinto and Aron Dervishaj. Anita is a speech therapist the advisor to the student newspaper at Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology in Manhattan at which she started a journalism club. Aron is a student who will be entering 11th grade in the fall (he's wearing a hockey jersey in our cover photo for a reason!). He's been writing for the student newspaper, The Gateway Times. If you are a regular listener, you've hopefully heard our previous interview with Anita and her monthly updates. In this interview, we recapped the school year with Anita and got Aron's perspective on what it's like to be a student journalist with no prior journalism experience. We went through two of Aron's stories and discussed how he got them. We also got some thoughts from Anita on ideas for next year, which will be the third year of the newspaper club. Thanks to Press Pass NYC, a wonderful organization helping advisors start student newspapers in New York City high schools, for connecting us with Anita. Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/ Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com

• Transcript

Dr. Ken Schneck, Founding Editor: The Buckeye Flame

On this episode Mark Simon was joined by Dr. Ken Schneck. Ken is the founding editor of The Buckeye Flame, Ohio's LGBTQ+ newsroom. He's written for many prominent publications, including The Huffington Post and The Advocate. He also was a tenured professor at Baldwin-Wallace, a book author, a public speaker, and a former syndicated radio show host. And he's a board member for NLGJA- the association of LGBTQ journalists. I hope that covers everything. He's a 1999 grad of NYU with a masters there and a doctorate from Fordham and was formerly a college administrator. And we should have interviewed him a long time ago. Ken talked about why The Buckeye Flame exists and what its purpose is. He shared examples of some of the things that he's written about, talked about his approach to teaching, explained how he managed his mental health, and much more. Ken's salute: Queer Kentucky Article Examples Taking a call from his high school bully https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2020/07/06/my-high-school-bully-just-called-me-25-years-later/ School board defeats anti-LGBTQ+ legislation https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2023/03/24/ohio-school-board-defeats-anti-lgbtq-resolution/ The 2026 Pride Guide https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2026/06/04/2026-ohio-lgbtq-pride-guide/ Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/ Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com

• Transcript